A serious game to train patient safety outside the classroom: a pilot study of acceptability

Introduction. Training in patient safety is imperative for front-line healthcare staff. Simulation is recommended but is faculty-intensive, reaches a limited number of candidates per session and delivery remains fragmented. 'Serious games,' defined as 'a mental contest played with a computer in accordance with specific rules, that uses entertainment to further training, education, health, public policy, and strategic communication objectives’, may have a niche role as a training resource. Despite high development costs they are potentially cost-effective in the longer term; no faculty requirement and potential to reach many learners at minimal additional cost. The immediacy of feedback promotes achievement of learning outcomes and mitigates against knowledge decay. The literature reports few serious games for safety training of healthcare professionals. We performed a feasibility pilot of the serious game ‘Air Medic Sky-1’ (AMS-1) in a cohort of UK medical students. AMS-1 has previously been reviewed in comparison with an e-learning patient safety module, where it was found to be comparable with regard to knowledge acquisition and more engaging. We aim to determine the acceptability of training with such a game.